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Easy Stir-Fry Sauce

The key to any good stir-fry is the sauce. Without good sauce you have bland, or worse super salty, limp veggies with some sort of meat. This sauce recipe comes from my dad, and works fantastically with chicken and an assortment of vegetables. You could also use fried tofu if you are of the vegetarian persuasion.

For this recipe I will list the sauce, and also some ideas for what would go well in a stir fry with it below. For stir-fry content quantities you can be the judge depending on how many people you are serving, and how much you like certain ingredients. I for instance don’t like baby corn and choose to omit it when I make stir fry for myself.

Easy Stir-fry Sauce – 1 Knife

Ingredients:

½ cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

2 teaspoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Cook:

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, stirring well so they are all incorporated.

When you have finished frying all of your meats and vegetables add the sauce and stir in.

Cook for a few minutes to bring the sauce to a boil.

Let thicken in the pan for a minute.

Suggested Stir Fry Ingredients:

Boneless skinless chicken breast cut into small (½-1 inch cubes) – For this cook about one breast per person you are serving. Also remember when handling the raw chicken to follow the Food Network Rule and wash your hands!

Bok Choi – Cut off the blunt end and discard. Chop into bit size pieces, including the greens if you like them.

Shredded or matchstick carrots

White mushrooms or oyster mushrooms – Oyster mushrooms are most easily found canned

Baby Corn – Again easiest sometimes to find in a can

Water chestnuts – Look for cans of these in the “Asian” or international aisle

Bamboo Shoots – Once again, a can in the “Asian” or international aisle is the way to go

Celery – Chop into thin slices

Green Pepper – Remove the stem and seeds and chop into small strips or 1 inch chunks

Cooking your stir-fry:

Cook chicken first in a few tablespoons of canola oil. As you see sides turning white you can stir the chicken to make sure it cooks evenly. You will know the chicken is cooked when it starts to turn lightly golden on the outside and you see absolutely no pink meat.

Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside in a bowl.

Add all of the vegetables to the pan and sauté until they are wilted and cooked through.

About I Can Boil Water

After hearing a friend grumble that he can't cook, I've taken up the challenge of proving to the culinary-challenged that cooking is easier then it looks. Food is never intimidating, it is your friend.